And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.
Parallel translations
- WEB Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some.
- KJV And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.
- BSB He sent still another, and this one they killed. He sent many others; some they beat and others they killed.
- NASB And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others.
- NLT The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The owner sends still more servants, some beaten and some killed.
Overview
The mounting violence, now including murder, recalls how prophets like Zechariah and others were slain (2 Chronicles 24:21; Matthew 23:37). God's repeated sending shows extraordinary patience, while the tenants' growing brutality shows hardened sin. The stage is set for the climactic sending of the son.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Mark 9:13But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they have also done to him whatever they wanted to, even as it is written about him.”
- Matt 23:37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!
- Matt 21:35–36The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
- Matt 5:12Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
- Jer 7:25–28Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
- Neh 9:30Yet many years you put up with them, and testified against them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet would they not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
- Luke 6:22–23Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
- Matt 22:6and the rest grabbed his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them.
- Luke 6:36“Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 12:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.